Too Big to Ignore: Will of the People Weekly — Week of August 3, 2026
This week: the biggest states defy the DHS roll-purge deadline, Senate Republicans threaten to cancel recess to force the SAVE Act, and primaries hit five states Tuesday.
Trump and his cronies are working to rig the game because they can't win a fair fight — but voters pick our leaders, not the other way around. Here's what you need to know this week.
This week, Trump, his administration, and the officials doing his bidding to keep themselves in power are continuing their push to stop voters from picking our leaders. The administration's deadline for states to purge their rolls or lose funding has just passed, with the biggest states refusing to comply. In the Senate, Republicans are threatening to cancel their own vacation to force through the SAVE Act. In the courts, voting rights groups are back before a judge Friday to keep Trump's mail-voting order frozen. Meanwhile voters across the country are heading to the polls: primaries in five states on Tuesday, Tennessee on Thursday, and early voting underway in South Carolina. They're counting on you to get discouraged and stay home; don't give it to them. What happens next is up to us, not them. When all of us show up, the will of the people wins. Try and stop us.
In the Administration
The Biggest States Refused to Cave to the Roll-Purge Deadline
Last week, the biggest states refused to cave to the Trump administration's demands to run voter rolls through a judge-blocked citizenship database or risk losing funding and even prison time. Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin had given states until last Thursday, July 30, but California, Nevada, and Pennsylvania refused to hand over voter data and demanded DHS explain. This week, the Trump administration will likely follow up.
In the Senate
Republicans Threaten to Cancel Recess to Force the SAVE Act
Two weeks ago, the House incorporated the SAVE Act into the planned reconciliation budget resolution. The Senate has begun considering the reconciliation 3.0 budget resolution, though the bill text is due in early September. Budget Chair Ron Johnson is pressing Thune to bring it to a vote before the August break, and a group of Senate Republicans is still threatening to cancel the August 6 recess period to ensure the SAVE Act gets through.
In the Courts
League of Women Voters of Massachusetts v. Trump (U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts)
Six voting rights groups sued over Trump's March 31 executive order directing USPS to build “approved mail voter” lists and refuse certain ballots. A federal judge allowed the claims to move forward, and a hearing is scheduled for Friday, August 7.
United States of America v. Matthews (U.S. District Court for the Central District of Illinois)
On Friday, a federal judge in Illinois denied the Justice Department's demand for the state's unredacted voter rolls, ruling the statewide list is not covered by the 1960 Civil Rights Act the DOJ invoked. This is the 19th straight loss for the DOJ in cases seeking states' unredacted voter rolls. The DOJ may try to appeal to the Seventh Circuit this week.
In the States
North Carolina
A sweeping anti-voter election bill (HB 958), opposed by the ACLU of North Carolina and passed by the state Senate last week, is awaiting action by Governor Josh Stein, who is expected to veto the bill.
Upcoming Elections & Deadlines
Tuesday, August 4
Michigan primary.
Virginia primary.
Kansas primary.
Missouri primary.
Washington primary.
Wednesday, August 5
Early voting for South Carolina's special GOP Senate primary begins.
Thursday, August 6
Tennessee primary.
Sunday, August 8
Hawai'i primary.
Don’t read the next headline alone.
Get rapid-response alerts and the real story behind the headlines, straight to your inbox.
Get InvolvedKeep Reading
Too Big to Ignore: Will of the People Weekly — Week of July 27, 2026
What you need to know this week: an appeals court freezes Trump's mail-voting order across 23 states and D.C., Thursday is DHS's deadline for states to use a judge-blocked citizenship database, and Georgia holds a special election Tuesday.
Read MoreToo Big to Ignore: Will of the People Weekly — Week of July 20, 2026
What you need to know this week: DHS orders states onto a judge-blocked citizenship database or lose funding, a court lets USPS advance Trump's anti-mail-voting order, the DOJ takes its 16th straight voter-roll loss, and Arizona votes Tuesday.
Read MoreTry and Stop Us Digest — August 3, 2026
Your daily brief on the fight for the vote: Cleta Mitchell's election-denial machine cashes in and gets meetings, DHS all but admits Trump's 250,000-noncitizen number is made up, the DOJ's voter-roll crusade falls to 0-19, and Virginia restores voting rights to 66,000 people.
Read More